Get-DbaAgReplica requires sysadmin to run?

[pshroads]

I'm trying to run Get-DbaAgReplica to get info about the availability group. I can only get it to return info if the user has sysadmin permissions. Is that by design? I'm wondering why VIEW SERVER STATE would not be sufficient.

[niphlod]

Multiple answers may be given but a precise "what permissions are needed to run this particular function" has never been done.
Part is because of SMO's internals, that we can't change, and part may be due to how we built dbatools' particular function (maybe we do other things to facilitate usage, or we retrieve an additional property that needs sysadmin permission).
All of this to say:

• dbatools doesn't pre-check permissions
• if you don't have enough permission, usually SMO errors out (and so, also dbatools' function)
• historically/statistically users of dbatools are sysadmins
• dbatools devs never architected functions to be sure they work also with the minimum set of permission you may think are needed
• finding out the reason should be an extended event session away (or a profiler trace)